Return to the Scene of the Crime

2008. USA. Directed by Ken Jacobs. Jacobs's return to a single scene from the 1905 short Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son—which he first disassembled in his 1969 masterpiece of the same name—could easily be titled "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Scene." An avant-gardist's comedy, Return roguishly riffs on thirteen distinct styles, revealing, distorting, interpreting, and even misinterpreting the hundreds of actions in a single scene—as painting, abstraction, allegory, and, ultimately, as ballet. It's a wry, roving, and joyous ode to movies. 92 min.

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